Airways: Asthma, Stuffy blocked or runny nose/ nasal polyps, Frequent nose bleeds, Catarrh, chronic throat-clearing, Sinusitis, Frequent ear infections, Frequent tonsillitis, Frequent colds and flu, symptoms of Samter’s Triad Skin: Eczema, Urticaria (hives), Cradlecap, Other skin rashes, Angioedema (swollen lips, eyes, tongue), Geographic tongue, Pruritis (itching), Allergic shiners (dark circles under eyes), Pallor (pale skin), Flushing, Excessive sweating, Body odour, Sore vagina in children Digestive system: Recurrent mouth ulcers, Indigestion, Nausea, Bad breath, Vomiting, Diarrhea, Stomach ache, Bloating, Reflux in babies, adults, Constipation, Colic in babies, adults, Sluggish bowel syndrome (feeling of "more to come"), Soiling (sneaky poos) Bladder: Bedwetting, Daytime incontinence, Urinary urgency, Recurrent inflammation (cystitis) Skeletal: Growing pains, Arthritis Eyes: Nystagmus (involuntary movement), Blurred vision Muscles: Low muscle tone, Myalgia (muscle pain), Tics (involuntary movement), Tremor, Heart: Rapid heart beat, Heart palpitations, Cardiac arrhythmias, Pseudo heart attack (feeling of impending doom, chest pressure, pain down arm), Tachycardia (fast heart beat), Angina-type pain, HHT Central nervous system: Headaches or migraines, unexplained tiredness, Chronic fatigue, Feeling 'hung-over', Confusion, Dizziness, Agitation, Tinnitus (noises in ear), Hyperacusis, Paraesthesia (pins and needles), Dysaesthesia (numbness), Hypoglycemia, Epileptic seizures, Sensory symptoms of multiple sclerosis, Symptoms of lupus Anxiety: Panic attacks, Depression, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, actions Impaired memory: Vague or forgetful, Unable to concentrate, Won't persevere, Unmotivated, Disorganised, Easily distracted, Difficulty reading and writing Speech: Loud voice (no volume control), Speech hard to understand, Speech delay, Selective mutism, Stuttering, Repetitive noises, Talks too much (empty chatter) Coordination: Poor handwriting, Poor coordination, Frequent accidents Sleep: Difficulty falling asleep, Restless legs syndrome (RLS), Persistent night waking, Insomnia, Nightmares/night terrors/sleepwalking Mood: Mood swings, Premenstrual tension, Grizzly or unhappy, Cries easily or often, Irritable, Uncooperative Oppositional defiance: ODD, Loses temper, Argumentative, Refuses requests, Defies rules, Deliberately annoys others, Blames others for own mistakes, Touchy, easily annoyed, Angry, resentful Other behaviour: ADHD, ADD, Autism, Aspergers, Inattentive, easily bored, unmotivated, Restless, fidgety or overactive, Head banging, Fights with siblings, Difficulty making friends, Destructive, aggressive, Unreasonable, Demanding, never satisfied, Disruptive, Discipline is ineffective. (http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/)Many of the things on the list describe symptoms of my other children as well. According to FoodIntol.com 75% of people have a food intolerance, so I continue to play detective to see what (if at all) my children are intolerant too. Has anybody else suffered with a food intolerance or know of a good elimination diet and guide?
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Eczema and Food sensitivity
We've been struggling with Buddy Bear's eczema since he was about 5 months old. You can see one of the spots on his forehead, and he gets it in other places all over his body as well. Mostly we are able to keep it under control by using Renew lotion daily (Renew is a Melaleuca product. For more information email me.), and we already have eliminated strong scents and harsh chemicals thanks to Melaleuca and their laundry, household cleaner, and bath & body lines. But even with a prescription ointment, we still struggle at clearing up his face. At Buddy Bear's last doctor appointment, our new doctor suggested that the trigger of his eczema might be a food allergy or intolerance . She suggested that we try a dairy free and wheat free diet to see if it makes a difference. A what?! Dairy free isn't that bad (but means no graham crackers and milk, no cheese, no ranch dressing, no yogurt, just to name a few of our favorite foods!). But wheat free? Yikes, that's a little more overwhelming! We've been dairy free for two of four weeks now (in most cases two weeks would be enough to see a difference, but since I'm still breastfeeding Buddy Bear, the proteins take two weeks to clear my body then two more weeks to clear his, at least so I've read). I'm waiting to do a little more research before doing the wheat free test. Really, this has opened a whole new can of worms for me. I'm especially intrigued with information on Sue Dengate's website Food Intolerance Network. Check out this list of some of the symptoms of a food sensitivity:
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EEEK! We have some of those symptoms listed above in our family. Hope you get the eczema figured out. I have heard that an elimination diet works well for eczema my sister had to do this with her little one. She has a blog and you could contact her if you wish. Her blog is...http://www.smallmomentscaptured.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteHi there! I'm glad my sister sent you my way. When our daughter was little I found out through an elimination diet of my own (she was still nursing exculsively) that she was allergic to soy, wheat, dairy, and egg. I missed her allergy to nuts. I don't know if my body did a better job at filtering those proteins. We eventually had her formally tested which confirmed my suspicions, so if you can keep with the elimination diet. It was extremely accurate for us and cleared up her eczema. It wasn't until she started eating table food that we saw how severe a few of her allergies were and that's why we chose to have her tested.
ReplyDeleteOur son was also having some behavioral problems so we eliminated gluten and dairy in his diet for about a year. So I feel your pain!
It is a long haul to learn a whole new way to cook. It really is just trial and error, but there are a lot of great websites available to help with the transition!
Here are a few I used frequently (not sure what the content may be for some of the blogs I just used their recipe indexes for the most part... so forgive me if there is some objectionable content)
www.glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com
www.gingerlemongirl.blogspot.com (particularly liked her pizza crust)
www.glutenfreemommy.com
www.5dollardinners.com (she has an allergy section in her recipe index.)
I hope these help! Don't get discouraged! We were very careful about eliminating our daughter to any exposure to the foods she was sensitive to and now she is only mildly allergic to milk and eggs. And she'll probably always have to avoid nuts, but in my book that is a ton of progress! She can now have baked goods that contain dairy and egg. So there is hope!
Feel free to email me @ beemuu3@aol.com if you have any more question!